We Shouldn’t Play it Safe

We do all we can to stay safe.
We are extremely risk averse.
Culture is shaping us this way.
You are more likely to injure yourself from a paper cut filling out the risk assessment forms for your events than from any event itself.

This is a challenge then to any Christian. I don’t think that safe is in God’s dictionary.
Safe is comfortable.
Safe is familiar.
Safe is easy.
Safe keeps me still.
Safe sees me contained.
Safe says no.
Safe doesn’t change anything.

Safe is dangerous. It can keep me on the fringe of where God really needs me. It can push me to the outer edge of where the real action is. In Matthew 26:58 it says that ‘Peter followed at a safe distance’. It was in the safety of distance that he was able to compromise, to disassociate himself from Jesus, from what he knew was right.

When you read through the Acts of the Apostles you don’t read about people playing it safe. In fact, they seemed to head to where the danger was. The individuals, many unnamed in Hebrews 11 who endured immense hardship, pain and trials for a prize that they didn’t see. Paul headed to places where he knew he would be arrested.Now, I’m not saying we need to go and deliberately put ourselves in danger but that maybe there are some things we could do if we were only a little bit more willing to let go of our ‘safe’ places and put our toes in the water of risk more often. If I’m honest, I have a low pain threshold in comparison to these legends of the faith…maybe that’s why we consider them legends.

You may have some suggestions but here are some of mine…
…get involved in a community project
…go on an overseas missions trip
…downsize your house to give financially into the kingdom
…sacrifice some time to serve somewhere – not just on a Sunday (although thats a good place to start)
…take some young people under your wing and invest in their lives (and not just the good ones)
…spend less so you can give more
…have some people round for a meal (and not just people who are like you) – expand our worlds a little bit more
…volunteer
…investigate whats going on in the world (follow amnesty on twitter) and do what you can – pray, give, support

Again – these are not things I’m necessarily doing either. It’s part of the journey that I am on too. All I’m recognising is this…moving into a lovely new building is not the prize, there’s not much danger in that. Stepping up into a new larger room as we will be doing in Darlington soon is not the prize. What I do to help fill it, pay for it, grow it…that’s where I need to play it safe a little less often. How about you?